Jane Burke Appointed to the Position of Christian Formation Director

“Let us go forth in the name of Christ, Alleluia!” This Easter chant of joy resonates with me today as I announce the appointment of Jane Burke to be our Christian Formation Director beginning May 1, 2014. Jane is a native of Maine and has been a mural artist for over 20 years. She is an Episcopalian and served as Director of Christian Education/Formation for four years at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Waterville, Maine.

Jane holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Maine College of Art and is a certified teacher of “Godly Play.” She completed two levels of mentor training with the Maine Prison Chaplaincy Corps and is a member of the newly formed mentoring group based at St. Matthew’s in Hallowell. Jane is also pursuing clinical pastoral certification through Central Maine Medical Center.

Jane will be immediately engaged in assessing the needs for our Christian Formation programs and will help plan the 9:30 a.m. Sunday Eucharist held in the “Upper Room” at St. Paul’s. She will continue to plan to implement “Weaving God’s Promises” for the rest of the Church School year, the last Sunday of class being Pentecost Sunday, June 8. Her work will resume in August as we create the plans for the 2014/2015 Church School year. She will also be assessing the needs of our programs for youth.

Jane’s curiosity, spirituality, creativity and artistry are the gifts that she brings to St. Paul’s. I want to thank the many people who helped with the Christian Formation Director Search process and who helped me interview candidates: Caroline Nickerson, Ally Collins, Rebecca Schuman, Anne Sturm, Hugh Savage, Myrna Koonce, Linda Ashe-Ford and Pat Ryan. We are excited that Jane will be our next Christian Formation Director.
A welcoming Eucharist is planned for The Third Sunday of Easter, May 4 at 9:30 a.m. in the “Upper Room” at St. Paul’s. Please join us then to meet Jane as we worship joyfully!

The Rev. Carolyn Eklund